


The Painted World

by TotallyNotASecretAO3Account



Category: Night at the Museum (Movies)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, NO DEATHS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:08:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25389556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotallyNotASecretAO3Account/pseuds/TotallyNotASecretAO3Account
Summary: A new painting gallery is added to the museum, and Jedediah and Octavius decide to check it out. It all goes well until they get trapped inside one particularly strange painting... Together, they have to find a way to escape, and perhaps go on a few adventures in the process.(Takes place before the second movie)
Relationships: Jedediah/Octavius (Night at the Museum)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 50





	1. The Gallery

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place several months after the first movie! Also, all paintings I mention in this are made up. There's probably some like them in existence but I didn't really have any real ones in mind, just described some scenes I wanted. The painting they get trapped in is made up and the artist (to be mentioned later) is also completely made up.

Oh, if Octavius had known what the night would end with, he would’ve pretended to stay frozen for his whole time awake.

It was supposed to be a normal evening, and had certainly started out like that. He had awoken at sunset as usual and began giving his men their orders for training. Since the regular fighting with the neighboring diorama had ceased, the general knew he needed to make sure they got their exercise and practice in other ways. So every night always started out with at least two hours of training first, before he would release his men to spend the rest of the night on their own work or personal activities.

Though he tried to ignore the voice in his mind that told him so, he knew he should spend more time training and working with his men, instead of prancing about the museum on personal business. But he couldn’t help it - it wasn’t his fault really. It wasn’t his fault he was rarely home anymore, choosing to instead always be out exploring the museum halls they had lived in for decades.

“Octavius!”

It was the cowboy’s.

Hearing the loud voice speed through the air towards him, Octavius just sighed - at least he had waited until the training was over to come this time. He leaned over the edge to see what the matter was. 

“Jedediah, what on Earth are you doing?” Octavius demanded. It was a fair question really; the cowboy was certainly a strange sight to behold - blue eyes wild and bright, standing on top of the toy car that had become the two’s own, with gloved hands cupped over his mouth as though they were a megaphone.  _ As if his voice wasn’t already loud enough. _

“Needed ya to hear me!” Jedediah let his hands drop, a wide grin plastered on his face. He gestured widely with his arms, “Now get yer butt down here! They added more stuff to this place an’ I wanna check it out.”

Octavius frowned in confusion. He knew what Jed was talking about - he had heard about the new painting gallery - but he hadn’t expected him to be the kind of person to want to go see some paintings. Sure, the man was quite curious, and these weren’t exactly ordinary pictures, given their magical situation, but still. What was this really about? Octavius pushed his wonder to the side and quickly threw the rope they kept near the edge over, before sliding down effortlessly. He took a moment to smooth down his cape that had flown over his shoulder, and nodded to himself when he was satisfied. He walked over to Jedediah.

“Finally, only took ya forever,” Jed said with a teasing grin, jumping down from the top of the car. Octavius followed his lead and climbed into the passenger side as soon as the other was in the driver's seat, buckling in quickly since he knew who was driving. It only took a second for Jed to recognize they were ready, and just like that, they were off. 

There were many things Octavius hated about their car rides, one particular thing being how crazy of a driver Jed was. Because of him, the car would always speed and jerk to a stop before speeding up again far too often, and Octavius had lost count of the times they had almost slammed into the wall because they seemed to always wait until the last possible second to sharply turn, resulting in the most dangerous ride Octavius believed to be possible (he never let Jed know of this though, for fear he would take it as a challenge to make it even more dangerous). The turns weren’t the worst part of the ride, however. That honor went to the loud and ear splitting noise the tires made as they skidded… oh, how Octavius despised that sound.

But none of it ever made him want to stop getting in the car. This was partly because he was pretty sure they couldn’t die from a simple crash - that was proven in the explosion several months before - but it was mostly because of Jedediah. 

He couldn’t understand why, but the sight of Jed’s delighted and wild smile as he drove was one of the most wonderful sights he had ever seen, in both his current and past life. There was a certain sparkle of excitement that appeared in his eyes everytime they got into the car, one that had never disappeared even once in all of their drives. These rides were also some of the uncommon moments in which Jedediah would take his hat off, since the car roof was so low. The general savored that rare sight. Octavius was glad that Jed’s eyes were always locked on the road ahead of them; it gave him a chance to easily sneak secret glances. He was a beautiful sight.

The ride that night was shorter than normal, mostly because they actually had a destination in mind. The new painting gallery was on the same floor as their exhibits too. Within only a few short minutes, they had arrived. Jed managed to park without crashing into a nearby wall this time, much to Octavius’ relief. They got out quickly and looked up at the walls, and both gasped.

Every painting was swimming with life. There was an ocean with gentle waves, small drops of water escaping from the frame and flying to the floor below. There was a ballroom filled to the brim with crowds dancing beautifully, not a care in the world to be seen on their faces. There was a family portrait, the parents smiling down as their young children climbed into their laps and laughed with joy. Everything was so lively, but not in a chaotic or disorganized way, just pure human joy and emotion. Octavius instantly decided this was one of the best additions this place had seen in a long time.

“Woah, this is…” Jedediah grinned, his eyes locked on a painting of a western town, similar to his own home, “This is amazing.” 

“It really is.” Octavius started walking farther into the gallery, Jed following closely behind. There were dozens and dozens of paintings lining both walls, small bronze colored plaques to the sides of them explaining more details about both them and their artists. Most of the paintings themselves were silent, though if he listened closely, Octavius could swear he could hear the children in one laughing as they climbed a tree together.

Well, one thing was for sure: these were certainly the most peaceful exhibits here. 

“Hey Octy, look at that one.” Octavius’ attention turned to Jedediah, who was pointing right above him at a painting. Octavius moved to stand next to him to see better. 

It was certainly a beautiful piece of artwork, but Octavius could see instantly what about it that had caught Jed’s eye. While the others had been filled with joy, compassion, happiness, contentment, or any other kind of emotion, this one was dull, at least when compared to the other paintings. It seemed almost… lifeless.

It was a painting of a simple clearing, gray trees with a hint of blue lining it all around. There was snow on the ground, but it wasn’t a clear white blanket; many roots poked up through the ground, creating intricate yet messy designs throughout the painting. There were several orange leaves hanging on to the dying branches for dear life, just bright enough that they stood out in stark contrast to the dull blue-gray scene behind them.

But there were no people, no animals, no life. It was practically dead. Octavius would have wondered if the tablet had even brought it to life if he hadn’t been able to see the slight movement of the leaves as the breeze hit them, almost invisible to the eye.

It was a strange painting. 

“I don’t like it,” Jedediah declared, frowning, “It’s creepy.”

Octavius looked over to the plague besides it. “ _ The Voice of the Roots _ ,” He read, “Huh.”

“Creepy,” Jedediah repeated, before promptly turning around and walking deeper into the gallery, “C’mon, let’s jus’ go look at the rest.” Octavius eagerly followed.

The two ended up spending another hour or so checking out the rest of the paintings. There were at least a hundred, they guessed, maybe more. The two walked down the whole way chatting with each other and even with some of the more expressive portraits, having in-depth conversations about the modern day price of cats with an artist’s self portrait and the advancements of space travel with the ten year old daughter of a duke before they decided to head back.

The trek back home was no less eventful. Octavius laughed as Jed stuck his tongue out at a painting of a young child, who made a silly face back, waiting for Jed to do the same once again. The child couldn’t have been older than 5 or 6 and was clearly overjoyed that someone was playing with him; It was saddening that he had been painted alone. It wasn’t the artist’s fault that he was lonely, since she never could have known what she had created would one day be a living being, but it was still an unfortunate circumstance. Jedediah eventually convinced the portrait across from the kid to take his place making silly faces when he left, and only actually began walking away when he was satisfied the boy was just as entertained and in good hands.

“I didn’t know you were good with kids,” Octavius said once they were farther along. Jedediah just scoffed.

“I ain’t, he was jus’ lonely. Didn’t wanna leave him alone.”

“Oh, sure you aren’t.”

“I’m not! I just-” Jedediah started to argue, but stopped abruptly, eyebrows scrunching together in confusion, “Hey, what’s he doing here?”

“Who?” Octavius turned to look and his eyes widened as soon as he saw who the other was talking about. He was here, and that definitely wasn’t good. Trouble always followed where he went.

Dexter.

“Hey Dexter, what’s up?” Jedediah asked, friendly in hopes of not provoking the crazy animal - he wasn’t exactly in the mood to be peed on. “Ya here to check out the paintin’s?”

Dexter evidently did want to, since he soon ran over to one and stared up at it, before moving on to the next. Octavius breathed out a sigh of relief.

“He just wants to look at them, I think we’ll be fine.” He said quietly, before he began to walk towards the car again. Jed followed him, though he kept an eye on the capuchin as he walked. Octavius didn’t realize until he felt a tug on his cape.

“He’s gonna knock it off the wall,” Jed urgently whispered, pointing before turning and running towards the monkey, now hanging off the edge of the frame of a nearby painting. Octavius held out a hand to stop Jed, but he was already running towards Dexter, and left him no choice but to follow.

“Hey, Dexter, stop that!” The cowboy exclaimed, waving a finger at him, “That ain’t your paintin’, and you’re gonna break it!” Jedediah stood just a foot away from him, desperately waving his arms and trying to get the monkey’s attention. Dexter just stuck his tongue out at him, making Jedediah gasp, clearly taking personal offense.

Octavius quickly ran to stand by his side. He took a moment to stare up at the painting, frowning when it was the same creepy forest they had seen before. It was just as lifeless as an hour before, just as off putting and creepy. Octavius never wanted to see it again. While he certainly wouldn’t mind it being destroyed, he knew he should probably help Jed stop the monkey from doing just that; Larry would get in a lot of trouble.

“Dexter, get down right now!” He ordered, pointing to the floor, “Get down here right now!” Jedediah just repeated Octavius’ words after him, throwing in a few colorful names for that particular creature as a personal touch, but the roman was just thankful when he saw that Dexter looked like he was starting to listen.

“Good boy,” He praised, smiling when he saw Dexter pose for a jump. The painting would be fine, and Larry would keep his job - no harm done at all! He and Jed had succeeded, and by themselves too. Who was tiny and helpless now?

“Dexter, wait!” A voice interrupted his thoughts. Jedediah saw it first, only a split second before Octavius did, and called out for the capuchin to stop. It was useless, far too late… He had held on to the frame as he jumped for just a moment too long, and as he went flying towards the ground, so did the painting.

The forest picture came tumbling down directly over top of the two miniatures. Octavius gasped, feeling Jed throw himself overtop of him to push him to the ground, acting as a shield as they both ducked. The painting crashed to the ground and landed directly on them.

For several moments, neither moved, fearful of what they would find. Octavius felt Jed carefully sit up, and he followed, shaking the snow off his hands and front of his shirt. It had grown cold.

Octavius looked around, eyes widening at the scene in front of him. The painting that they had spent so much time staring at from a distance was now surrounding them on all sides, above and below. The blue-gray trees, the dull sky, the snow floor with roots everywhere… Octavius stared in awe. The breath from his lips was visible now, escaping into the air with each sharp exhale as the cold wind hit his arms in a painful shock. However, nothing could compare to what he felt when he turned to face the exit that they had fallen through, the frame that showed nothing and no escape but tile floor now. Realization hit him hard, an almost physical pain stabbed deep in his stomach. He almost wished he never realized.

They were trapped in the painting.


	2. The Princess and Her Mama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jedediah decides he loves baby birds. Also shout out to @Rome-and-other-history on Tumblr for giving me the idea for the bird's name.

The moment the shock of their situation was over, chaos seemed to take over.

“No no no,” Jedediah’s voice sped up as he worried. He pushed against the square exit with both hands, trying to push the painting up just enough for them to escape. When that didn’t work he backed up, running at it full force and slamming his shoulder into the tile, desperately trying to make some kind of impact to push the painting off the ground enough for them to crawl out.

It didn’t budge.

Octavius watched in silence, before he approached the other man cautiously. He set a hand on his free shoulder comfortably, but Jed jerked away the second it touched the rough fabric of his vest, and their eyes met. Octavius gasped.

Jedediah’s eyes were wide and there was a hint of tears brimming in the corners, his jaw set and teeth clenched tightly. He was putting everything he could into trying to push through the portal. Octavius stepped back to give him space; this seemed to have the opposite effect of what the general had wanted. Octavius couldn’t tell if he was sad or angry.

“Why are you just standing around?!” Jedediah demanded, straining more, “Help me push, or we’ll be stuck in ‘ere forever!”

“Jedediah, surely you realize that-”

“Dang it Octy, just push!”

Octavius didn’t bother arguing more, giving in and walking over to the cowboy. He planted his feet firmly into the snow and shoved his hands through the frame, feeling the hard tile floor of the museum and pushing as hard as he could. Jedediah did the same right besides him. Teeth clenched and muscles straining, the two did this for several minutes before Octavius accepted that it was truly hopeless. He backed off, looking to Jedediah, who stepped back as well. However, he clearly had a different reason for stopping.

“Why’d you stop?” He demanded. 

“This is the same as trying to break a brick wall with our fists, Jedediah,” Octavius sighed, “There is no possible way we could lift the painting back up, especially with our position on the inside of it.”

“So what, ya jus’ wanna accept this then?” Jedediah demanded, storming over to Octavius and jabbing his finger into his chest. “Jus’ accept we’re stuck in here forever? Is that what ya wanna do, Toga boy?”

“We won’t be in here forever,” Octavius rolled his eyes, “Listen, a very old and very expensive painting just fell to the floor. Dexter was responsible. Larry is bound to find it at some point, so all we have to do is wait right here for rescue. You are surely just being dramatic.”

Jedediah huffed, before promptly turning around walking away silently. Octavius frowned, raising his eyebrows in question and shouting to him.

“Did you not hear a word I said? We should stay here, and wait for rescue!”

“Relax! I ain’t leaving, jus’ findin’ a place to sit.” Jed yelled back, not bothering to turn around as he answered. He soon found what he was looking for, which was evidently one of the many tree roots sticking out high enough out of the ground to escape the snow. Octavius sighed and followed him, sitting next to him from a still comfortable distance.

They were silent for a time, staring blankly at the framed, blocked exit in front of them. All they could see was the floor filling the huge rectangle, the frame expanding three or four feet into the air. There was no movement at all, no matter how much they wished otherwise. It made Octavius wonder how lifeless the often empty halls of the gallery must look to the paintings; he had called this world lifeless, but maybe that was just because of his limited perspective. Maybe it wasn’t lifeless, maybe it just looked that way from where he was standing.

The view from outside a painting looks very different from the world inside of it.

The two miniatures watched this view in complete silence for several minutes together. It was so quiet that, aside from the occasional breeze, nothing was heard except for their breaths. Not a word was said, but this didn’t last long. The snow crunched under his feet as the cowboy stood up and began to walk off.

Octavius groaned in exasperation, “Jedediah, where are you going now?”

“We’re gonna be here awhile!” Jedediah walked towards the tree line, out of the large clearing they had found themselves in. “Might as well explore, see what’s out here.”

“That’s a horrible idea.” Octavius declared, standing up and running after his friend, who didn’t stop for even a moment. After several moments of being ignored, Octavius reached out and grabbed him by the wrist to stop him from walking - it worked, but Jed tore his arm away the second he could. Octavius shook his head.

“We need to stay here, and stay together. What if Larry picks up the painting while we’re gone?”

“Oh please,” Jed rolled his eyes. “It’s not like if Gigantor doesn’t see us, he’s jus’ gonna put the paintin’ right back down on the floor. We’ll make it back by then anyways. I jus’ wanna have a look around. We won’t even leave sight of the portal frame thingy.”

Octavius could already tell by the look in his friend’s eyes that he had lost this battle; when Jedediah Smith wanted an adventure, he was going to get one. Jed smirked, apparently very aware that he had won, and gestured for Octavius to follow him. He very reluctantly did.

Octavius took the moment to try to analyze his surroundings as they walked, but not for their aesthetic beauty this time. No, he wanted to get an estimate on what time of year it was. The trees were tall and strong, and there were still several orange leaves floating gently down from the tips of them. The grass was covered in snow, but underneath the flakes there was still green grass; it hadn’t all died yet. It was probably the beginning of winter, perhaps the first snowfall. Octavius shivered, cold, but thankful that not being fully human meant neither of them were quite as affected by the temperature. 

Still didn’t make him any less upset that his outfit didn’t protect him much from the cold. It wasn’t designed for that. Still, he knew there was no real reason to dwell on this problem. He knew they would be able to escape soon, back into the warm museum where they belonged; he just had to wait. Then he could be home where his closest friends and soldiers were waiting for his return, ready to celebrate. He smiled at the thought.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” Octavius blinked, realizing he had walked right into Jed without knowing. He quickly apologized, hoping he wouldn’t get so lost in his thoughts again and promising this aloud. He quickly realized his words were being paid any mind when his eye caught what Jedediah was staring at.

“Is that a bird?” Octavius asked slowly, eyes narrowing in suspicion. It was a small one (though still bigger than either of them) and was laying on the ground. Jedediah nodded.

“I think it’s a baby.”

“But it’s winter,” Octavius pointed out, “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“There are some birds that have their kids then.” Jedediah took a step forward. “Not many, but some of ‘em. Plus, I don’t think this place ever changes seasons anyways.” He took another step forward and his frown deepened when the bird made no reaction. “I think it’s hurt too.”

“Well what do you want us to do about that?” Octavius asked, getting slightly anxious as Jed kept getting nearer to the creature, “Jedediah, regardless of if it's injured or not, that creature could easily kill us both. We should stay back…”

“I ain’t leaving a baby alone like that, it could die!” Jedediah carefully reached a hand out, smiling softly when the bird didn’t attack him for touching its feathers. He took a chance and stepped closer, and when nothing happened, he even began to pet it. “Maybe we could find its mama for it, and…” He turned towards Octavius and grinned. Octavius realized what was happening instantly.

“Jedediah, don’t you dare.”

“I’m gonna name her.”

“We are not keeping a pet bird!”

“We won’t!” Jedediah defended, “Just help her get to safety, make sure she’s not too hurt, then we can leave her be. I promise.” He continued without giving Octavius a chance to interrupt, “As soon as she’s safe we can leave and wait over there by the portal thing, ya don’t need ta worry!” He ‘compromised’, and Octavius glared. He knew he couldn’t say no - However, his pride wouldn’t allow him to say yes either, so he settled for sighing and staying silent. Jed grinned, knowing the general long enough to interpret that answer for himself. He carefully kneeled down and began to speak comfortingly to the bird, explaining what was going to happen, and checking over her for wounds.

The breeze picked up suddenly, sending another shiver down Octavius’ spine. He rubbed his arms and turned back to face the exit. It was quite the distance away now, but not so far that they couldn’t see it anymore. Sadly, it still wasn’t an open exit. He sighed. His disappointment wasn’t able to last long, however, before movement caught his eye. 

It was from high above both of them, up in the tops of the trees. Eyes squinted to help focus so far, he followed the movement visually and trailed just behind. The dark blurry image slowly grew and, as it came into focus, Octavius suddenly realized it wasn’t simply getting bigger.

It was getting closer.

“Jedediah-” He said worriedly, eyes widening as he glanced over to the other man. Jedediah shushed him immediately.

“Shush Octy!” He whispered, wrapping the bandana he usually wore around his neck around the bird’s leg, “I’m helping Princess here!”

“You named the bird Princess??” Octavius demanded, though he shook his head and decided to drop it; there were more important matters to attend to right now. “Nevermind, I don’t care. We just need to leave immediately.”

“Huh, why?” Jed asked, standing up since he had finished wrapping the handkerchief around Princess’ leg. His eyes widened when he saw what Octavius had already seen. “Oh,” He said.

“Look’s like Mama’s home.”

“Run!” Octavius shouted, grabbing Jedediah by the wrist and sprinting away from the bird and her incoming mother, who looked quite angry they had gotten near her baby. Jedediah ran right besides him, gasping as they both stumbled over the snow and tried to get away, dodging inbetween the countless roots. The bird was much faster than them, and they had to jump to the side and then scramble back up as fast as they could each time she swooped down and tried to grab one of them. On the third time, Octavius could hardly hear himself think over his panic.

“That ain’t no lil’ bird Oct,” Jedediah shouted as he stood up, stopping for only a second to help Octavius up before sprinting besides him again. They had both gotten a closer look at it now, and could see how dark and sharp each of her feathers were, lined with a blood-like pattern. Her eyes were narrow and glowing red… This creature wasn’t something that could be found in the real world. It was something straight out of a nightmare. “That there’s gotta be a hawk, or somethin’!”

“Are you crazy, have you ever seen a hawk?!” Octavius demanded, pushing Jed to the side as it tried to attack again. “That’s a demon!” He was worried now; he knew they couldn’t run forever, and they were already slower and more tired than they were when they started. He glanced around, desperately looking for a place of shelter. All that could be seen was white snow, roots, and several trees.

“There!” Jed shouted suddenly, pointing ahead at a small hole in the base of an upcoming tree. Octavius immediately spotted it but didn’t say anything; they both understood the silent agreement. Their legs frozen and feet aching, they ran as fast as they possibly could, running on pure adrenaline at this point. They just wanted to live. The hawk was getting closer, closer, closer… They could practically feel the wind from its wings on the back of their necks. At the last moment, they dove into the tunnel and crawled to the back wall, gasping for air and praying the bird couldn’t reach in. It didn’t follow.

For several achingly long moments, no sound could be heard besides their pounding hearts. The darkness covered both of their faces, covering the winded and terrified faces they both now had, and they pressed their backs against the wall to put more distance between them and the outside world.. They could see the light of the entrance shining through just ahead of them, and watched it in anticipation. The two miniatures stayed silent.

“Do you…” The words that finally broke the silence were soft, and Octavius would hardly be able to hear them if he weren’t listening so closely, “Do ya think she’s gone?”

“I don’t know,” Octavius admitted, “I can’t tell.”

“I don’t think she could fit inside.”

“I hope not.” Octavius stood, bending over slightly as not to hit the wood above him; even for their size, the area was small. He paused and listened, before whispering his next words.“I don’t hear anything… I’m going to check outside.” Jed stayed silent.

He approached the end of the tunnel as slowly as possible, remaining vigilant and constantly listening for any sign of the deadly creature returning. At the edge, he looked out cautiously. The scene was completely silent and, aside from the footprints and points of impact in the snow where the creature had tried to grab them, there wasn’t a sign of life to be seen. He took a chance and stepped outside.

“Octavius!” The shout registered immediately, but not until it was too late to spot the murderous claws headed straight towards him. There was no time to run, no time to jump out of the way. His froze as he watched them come closer without even enough time to scream.

The hand gripped on the back of his shirt whipped him back into the tunnel at the last second, the claws so close they almost cut his nose. He landed on his back, breath knocked out of him, and was immediately pulled deeper into the tunnel.

He didn’t get up, staring up in shock and breathing deeply. Jedediah collapsed besides him seconds after, and they were silent as they listened to the sound of wings flapping just outside. Octavius didn’t bother to move again. He closed his eyes, keeping his voice low.

“I...I think it might be best if we wait here for a while.” 


	3. Hidden

“Okay, would you rather swim in a pool of ketchup or syrup?”

“Jedediah…” Octavius frowned, shaking his head, “Your questions are getting strange.” 

Jed smiled. Octavius chuckled as he leaned back against the wall of the tunnel, placing his arms behind his head and relaxing. His words held no real judgement. The two were just playing. Jed kneeled in the soft dirt several feet away, grinning and silently urging him to pick. So Octavius did.

“If I had to pick, then most certainly syrup. Both would be almost impossible to move in, and I’d surely drown, but at least syrup smells better.”

“True.” Jedediah mused, shifting to stretch his legs out. After around the half hour mark of their hiding, Jed had gotten bored. The small talk Octavius offered didn’t satisfy him, so he had enthusiastically begun a game of Would You Rather. The Roman didn’t mind, considering they didn’t exactly have many better options to pass the time with, and so he played along. He even found himself enjoying it. Jed grinned as he thought of a new one.

“Alright Octy, new question. Would ya rather become half yer height, or twenty feet tall?”

“Half my height? Oh Jedediah, aren’t we small enough already?” Octavius laughed as he sat up straight, watching him carefully. The cowboy had a wild smile on his face, eyes glimmering with excitement; it was a nice change from the earlier stress that had threatened to never leave. He knew it was still there, but hidden by this distraction now, a temporary bliss. He shook his head.

“Twenty feet tall is just crazy, and I’m already used to being able to sneak around so easily. So I suppose half my height.” He said. Jedediah took a moment to think it over before he nodded in approval.

“Yeah, but ya have to admit bein’ twenty feet tall would be mighty useful right about now."

Octavius looked towards the edge of the shelter, nodding in silent agreement. They had been stuck in the tunnel for almost an hour now, and he was getting tired of waiting - before, the demon creature had flown by every few minutes to remind them of her presence, but for at least a half an hour now all had been completely silent. Octavius stood up and glanced towards his friend.

"We haven't heard anything for a while, maybe I could go check."

Before he could even take a step, Jed had leapt to his feet. Octavius felt a harsh grip on his upper arm - not hard enough to hurt, but urgent nonetheless - which stopped him in his tracks. He looked back in question, and the cowboy raised his voice.

"Hell no!" Jed’s eyes were gravely serious. "She's gonna be there again, waiting jus' like last time. She's tryin' to fool us, Octy!"

"Really?" Octavius asked, confusion painted on his face, "I would've assumed you would want to go check again, with how impulsive you and all your other westerners seem to be." He didn’t really mean this as an insult, more as a simple observation. Jedediah huffed, obviously not seeing it that way.

"We ain't impulsive, jus' adventurers." Jedediah argued, and then closed his mouth tightly. Octavius stared at him, silently urging on a better answer, until the cowboy sighed under the weight of his gaze.

"You're gonna jus' look out there and next we know, woosh! Your head’ll be chomped clean off!" He exclaimed, moving around as though he were trying to describe the scenerio in charades, vague hand gestures and all. "We got mighty lucky, an’ she missed last time, but only jus’ barely. Boy, we ain't givin' her a second chance!"

Now, Octavius liked to think of himself as a wise man, matured in his thinking from all his long years. He was a serious general who led an entire army and created an empire - he had no time for any jokes or messing around; he had to stay focused. He was a genuine and honest man whose very presence demanded respect from all who saw.

But sometimes... He couldn't help the childish teasing tugging at his heart. A mischievous look appeared in his dark eyes.

"Aww Jedediah, you're worried for me."

"Am not!" Immediately on the defense, Jed glared, blue eyes narrowed and glaring. He rattled off his reasons as though they were written on the back of his hand, or memorized through years of practice. "I ain't cleaning up all that blood, and I need ya to help me get out of here! The creature would get me next. Ya dying would be no help. That's all this is!"

Octavius grinned, "Alright, I believe you," He said in a tone which clearly indicated that he most certainly did not believe him. Jed's face turned red. From anger or embarrassment, Octavius would never be able to tell. Perhaps it was both.

Regardless, it was very funny. Octavius made no effort to hide the amusement he felt. Jed scowled.

"Boy, I oughta shove ya out there to the bird right now, give you a taste of yer own medicine!” Jedediah exclaimed over dramatically. He jabbed a finger into Octavius’ shoulder accusingly, “Stop it! I see that laugh, so stop it!” 

“Alright alright,” Octavius held his hands up in surrender, the corner of his lips twitching as he tried to hide his smile. “I’ll stop, just calm down.”

Jedediah glared for a moment longer, before backing up and returning to his corner of the hide out. He sighed and collapsed to the ground, but in a controlled enough manner that it was clear it was on purpose. Octavius sat back down across from him. He frowned.

Jedediah looked exhausted. Though they had been sitting down for quite some time now, there was still a certain tension and fear for both of them - what if the demon somehow got inside? What if it never left? What if they were stuck in this place forever? Jed hadn’t let his guard down. The time they had spent running was combining with this worry now, and both physical and mental exhaustion was prominent on his face. Octavius’ tone turned gentle.

“Jedediah, we have time,” He slowly spoke, “You can rest. You can sleep.”

“Huh?” Jed looked confused, so Octavius continued.

“I can tell you’re exhausted. Just relax, the creature can’t fit in here. We’re safe and we’re going to be here for a while anyways, you might as well get your strength back and rest.”

“I ain’t tired.” Jed said quickly, before he sighed as he realized the defense was almost a reflex. He looked out the exit.

“When do you think it’ll be safe?”

Octavius frowned. To be honest, he had no idea when they could leave. Who knew how much patient this demon would have? Certainly not either of them. He shrugged.

“I’m not sure. But the time will pass quicker if we rest.”

“That bird better not get inside.”

“She won’t.” Octavius said, voice sincere, “Jedediah, sleep. We’ll be fine.”

Clearly not one to enjoy losing an argument, he huffed. Deciding that he wouldn’t admit defeat even when he knew he lost, he shifted into a more comfortable position and pulled the edge of his hat over his eyes. He wasn’t going to say Octavius was right, but the general smiled slightly nonetheless.

The two drifted off to sleep peacefully.

***

"Aww doggone it!!"

The same voice that carried him to sleep was there waiting for him when he woke up. Octavius blinked several times, looking around as he remembered 

Jedediah was already awake. He was standing at the edge of the tunnel with fingers pulling at the strands of sandy hair escaping from underneath his hat, shoulders tense. Even if his back was turned, it didn't take a genius to picture the horrified expression sitting on his face, eyes wide and mouth gaping, unintelligible and foreign expressions of shock tumbling out of it. Octavius approached cautiously.

"Jedediah, what's the matter?" He asked slowly, hand hesitantly hovering around his friend's shoulder. He dropped it as Jed turned to face him, pointing a gloved finger towards the snow with a wild look in his eyes.

"Look!"

Octavius did, eyes narrowed and searching. He turned back to Jedediah.

"Are you showing me the snow? I understand the desert probably does not get much of that, Jedediah, but surely you noticed it yesterday?"

"No!" Jed shouted, rolling his eyes, “That’s not what I’m talkin’ about!”

Octavius was confused as ever. Jed groaned, frustrated that he was alone in his panic. He paused for a moment to take a deep breath. He pointed again and spoke calmly and carefully, as though he were explaining something to a small child.

“Ocky, there’s more snow than before. Our footprints ain’t there anymore.”

Octavius frowned, “And what’s so worrying about that?”

“For real?” Jedediah exclaimed, taking off his hat for a moment to smack Octavius in the arm with it. “Ya really are an idiot!”

“Ow!” Octavius glared, even though it hadn’t hurt at all. He stepped back and huffed out an indignant breath. “You are being overdramatic. There is no problem, just a bit more snow to deal with. That’s all. Or are you afraid of a little cold?”

Jed scoffed. “Fine. If there ain’t a problem, ya Octo-moron, tell me which way the portal is!”

“Gladly.” Octavius nodded smuggly and walked closer to the edge of the tunnel, looking outside carefully. He confidently puffed out his chest as he walked, holding up a finger to point at the picture frame. “It’s just over-” He stopped.

It was nowhere to be seen. When the flying demon creature had chased them, they had gone left and right, turned around and ran forward and spun around again. They had spiraled in all directions, losing track of their way in the process of running for their lives. Worse, they had traveled far; the portal was no longer in sight. The dozens of trees looked nearly identical now. Without the footprints... Jedediah was right.

They were lost.

Jed must have seen the terror on his face, because he dropped the slight mocking smile and sighed, his mood changing instantly as he grew angry at their situation once again.

“We’re lost, dagnabit! How are we supposed to get out of here now?”

“We’re fine!” Octavius interrupted, turning to face the cowboy. He felt his heart racing with panic and made the conscious decision to push it down deep; he needed to stay calm. Roman generals didn’t panic. _He_ didn’t panic. He could deal with his emotions later. “We just have to search for it. We’ll be fine, we have plenty of time to do so.”

“How are we supposed to find it?” Jedediah demanded, “The whole forest looks exactly the same everywhere. We’ll be wanderin’ in circles before finding anything even slightly useful.” He angrily threw his hat to the ground in a fit of rage. “We’re stuck!”

“But we’re alive, my friend,” Octavius tried to calm him down, “We were not eaten alive by that creature. That has to count for something.”

Jed sighed, slumping against the tree in defeat. His stetson fell lower, blocking Octavius’ view of his eyes once again, but his lips were visible and curved down in a distinct frown. Octavius approached slowly, laying a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, but he removed it when he felt Jed tense sharply beneath him.

“We’ll find our way out Jedediah. You can’t just give up before we even have tried looking.”

Several moments of silence passed before Jed’s chuckle shattered it. Eyes still hidden, he spoke quietly, “Yeah, I reckon I shouldn’t.”

With that agreement, Jed stood up straight and grinned, bad mood instantly vanishing. Octavius couldn’t help but be impressed with his ability to change his attitude so quickly - whether it was a good or bad thing was up for debate, but it was impressive nevertheless. Jed walked towards the exit of the tunnel, gesturing for him to follow.

“Wait Jedediah, we don’t know if the creature is gone yet-” Octavius said, following him anyways. Jed shrugged.

“It’s been at least a couple of hours now,” He reasoned, evidently now back to his impulsive self. “If it ain’t gone yet then it ain’t leavin’. Might as well try now.”

“That is some horrible logic.” Octavius sighed, as the two exited the tree, Jed leading. They looked around, carefully listening for the haunting sound of flapping wings, looking around for the red glow of eyes. But it was silent. It was empty The woods were dead once again, but this time even the wind had left.

The silence pounded in their ears, almost deafening. Their hearts sped up as they held their breath. If it weren’t for their own ability to move, they would’ve been afraid the painting had frozen again.

“Well… There’s no more bird,” Jedediah whispered, breath visible in the cold air. “That’s good…”

“I suppose so.” Octavius took a deep breath and stepped forward, though the deeper snow made it difficult to move - it was up far past their knees now, compared to the thin layer barely reaching their ankles before. He ignored the cold. “We should just try to get out of here.” 

Jed made no argument. They both had a mutual understanding of how freaky this place was; there was no need for any convincing. 

The two set off to find their escape.


End file.
